Continuous freezing unit



Aug. 23, 1949. A. K. scRlvEN CONTINUOUS FREEZING UNIT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. l0, 1945 Patented Aug. 23, 1949 QQNTIANUOUS. FREEZING UNIT Albert K. Scriven,Baltiniore, Md.

Appliationugust 10, 1945, Serial NQ. .610;072

(Cl. S27-11041)' 3'. Claims.

This invention relates-f tofrefrigerai'fingV equipmentandmore particularly toga` machine for the continuous freezing or` f oodz Ina particular form in the-prior artarefriger ating machine freezes food without use of a secondary coolant such`v asbrine; but does same.V di-` rectly, with the primary coolant; on two sidesof the article orfood to be cooled: The food'is kept under a, slight pressure by the coolant ducts so as to get a quicker and` more effective response to the action of' the coolant: TheA disadvantages of this form are that pressure is-needed; only two sides or a limited area of the periphery is encountered by the refrigerant action;l and the articles are cooled' invan intermittent, manner, and is known asthe batchMmethod Itis a general' object; ofithis invention to provideA a new and improved refrigerating machine that will avoidone; or, more of' the disadvantages and' limitations of the, prior art.,

An additional' object* of the present invention is to provide a new and improved refrigerating machine that can cool' packageso food in a, con

tinuqus manner in a very-effective manner.

Another object of" this inventionn is to` provide a new, and-- improved refrigeratingl machine that canernploy a` primary coolant, directly on the, housingcontaining the packagesto be,cook-:dand` overv alli peripheral sidesY of; the same.r`

Other objects of. the present invention Willbecome apparent as the inventionismorefully setA forth..

In order that the invention may bernore clearly understood attention is hereby directed to the appended drawings fmnlingl part; of; this applieaf.

tion and"il1ustrating. one embodiment of. the iI 11 venton.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure r isa planview ofjthe continuellefr eea-A ing"v unit including the precooling unit embodying, the invention ;Y

Figure 2 ,is a side elevation partly innsyeqtjgn, taken; alongline 2 2; of `Figure 1;.

Figure 3r is an end elevation partly in section.,

taken along line3j-3 ofFig ure 2;

Figurefl is an enlarged plan view of' the continuous freezing unit shown in Figure 1 ;l

Figule 5. a. sideelevation of Figure 4 partly in section;

Figure 6 is an. enlargedp View; taken along line 6.-5 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a typical section takenthroughthe;

belt anti-freeze lulariatpr Ulsel` Jthis device, and

Figurei 8 is a sectional view, taken along lines Sla-8, oFigure 7.

VSimilar referencev characters, refer tosimilar partsthroughout the drawings.

In the structure indicated. represents the housing. and base of. apreferredform ofrefriger- 2. ating machine; in. which: the-` upper and lower conveyors It and' lrespecti-vely.- operate in the directions shown by the arrows. They are enclosed inV thisl housing, and' are actuated appropriately by the-motor.` t3 andsuitable transmis-f sion.

Each conveyor is formed; with aL continuous carrier l5 andv I6" respectively-vof channel crosssection with the. anges; ITE and I8' extending out-- Wardly so as to contact eachothento form a rectangular boxing |19 alongy thefreezingtravel distance. The conveyors lil andl-Z-'areiarrangedone above the other in aE verticali plane, and' run on the drums 2l and 2irespectively. Theshaft's 23 and 2li' supporting the drums` runv in bearings mounted in the sideof.`1 the. housing. The shafts 23and 24` have gears 2ilfand'` 28fatt'ached to them and driven by the motor` |31 intheproper direc tion. The shafts 33 and 3'4 run free and their drums 25 and' 2151 followA like idlers. The carriers l5' and` I6',` are: madeof.= exible material, preferably synthetic rubber or. its equivalent, which has a reasonably-J hign heat conductivity.

The freezingI travel distanceA is that portion of the boxingof the carrier that carries the packages 29, and" during4 that period passes through a primary coolantY jacket 3U; which surrounds the joined carriersiin this travel' distance. The jacket consists offv a casing having an outer Wall 3l: of Arectangular cross-section, andan inner wall 32' ofl similar cross-section but spaced interiorly therefrom by spacers 35. TheA spacers have holesr 361 to allowl the coolant tocirculate. The whole casing is closed in andI contains a primary coolant,v such` as ammonia M', suitably cooled and circulated" byv a feedline- 40' and' return line 4l; in a conventional'A manner, the details of which are all known to those skilled' in the art. Since the coolant is-Yaprimary7 one', that is one used in the machine directly without brine or other secondary coolan-ts; an auxiliary pipe or hood 31 is connected by-holes 52* to the jacket as shown and an escape tank 38 is provided at a suitable high point to take up the vaporized gas derived during the heat exchange occurring as the packages are cooled. Thepackages 29 t within the channels o fjthe carriers neatly so that pressure isexerted o n their vt.op, bpttom and side surfaces* resulting in avery effectiveV cooling reaction, The cold` coolant cools the` material of the carrier. in the dieteticiens. wiiieh. turn. cools the packages therethrough packages. are read--` ily emplaced in p theopen channels; atl the right;

of the carriers against the inner surface 42 of the internal wall 32, and at the same time avoid diiculty with moisture or condensation thereon, a felt lining 43 attached to the extruded end 52 of inner wall 32 by angles 53 soaked in an antifreeze lubricant such as glycerine 44 by the -feeder 45 is used in between. This lubricates the surfaces and reduces friction, at the same time preventing any trouble from Water. As the packages are impressed on all sides by the freezing surfaces, the heat flow occurs thoroughly therein, and causes them to be cooled very evenly, which is not possible when only two surfaces are cooled.

The movement of the carrier increases the rate of effective heat'ex'changamore so than if the coolant reaction was applied to the stationary package. v

The machine offers a method of freezing which is time and labor saving and is economical in theuse of power. This is due to the continuous and even travel of its conveyors; theeasy manner in which the packages are lintroduced and emptied automatically 4and the avoidance of packing; pressure operations and additional operations required in conventional arrangements.

The carriers can carry the packages in a single,

line or in suchnumbers abreast as may be required, depending on` the size of the packages or the width of the channels. If the temperature drop is to be considerable, the use of several of the machinesv in tandem can be arranged; to take care of the situation;`

When used in tandem'the preceding machines are termed precoolers and are placed in the production line ahead of the iinished freezer, this allows the temperature of the product to be reduced in rapid steps in an automatic land ccntinuous travel.; The cooling medium used in the precoolers may be brine or one of the antifreeze liquids 5!) which can be cooledthrough a coiled pipe 4S inserted in the escape-tank`38 and carried through a pipe 41 to the jacket 48 which surrounds the conveyor and cools the product carried therein in a similar manner to that performed by the coolant jacket 30, the cooling ,medium is drawn from the jacket 48 by a pump 49 and returned through piping 5| to the coiled pipe 46 for recooling in tank 38.

While but one general form of the invention is shown in the drawings and described in theV specicationait is not desired to limit this application for patent to this particular form or in any other way otherwise than limited by the scope thereof, as it is appreciated that otherY forms of` construction could be made that would use the same principles and come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is: Y

1. A continuous cooling machine comprising, a housing, a plurality of carriers of flexible material of flanged form operating within the housing, drums for guiding the. carriersin diierent planes and inducing an arcuate returning travel therein in an endless manner, said carriers being arranged whereby their flanged form will provide for a coordinated engagement witheach for a predetermined travel distance, said engagement providing a boxed-in arrangement for packages to be inserted, carried and delivered therefrom in said distance, a primary coolant means mounted in the casing and adapted for the carriers to pass therethrough and in surface contact therewith and to keep the carriers in said engagement and the carriers against the packages in a continuous line, and means for lubricating the casing and carriers with a low temperature non-toxic iiuid to facilitate the travel through said distance said carriers being arranged in pairs running in different planes whereby the flanges thereof will be opposite each other and contact along their iiange edges to form a hollow rectangular structure for said distance and opening up to travel around their respective drums in arcuate V-like directions for travel outside of said distance.

2. A refrigerating machine of the class described comprising an enclosing housing for maintaining a predetermined temperature range therein,a pair of superposed carriers operating mined portion of their travel in saidV housing to provide a box-like structure for the enclosing and carrying of packages to be refrigerated therein, means foi` operating said carriers in belt-like manner about rotating members included therein, said carriers separating from each other as their respective portions travel around said members and endlessly continuing'in another plane until they reach said predetermined portion of their travel to again contact each other in the box-like structure means as aforesaid, means for delivering said packages to the carriers as they begin to form said structure and other means for arranging the removal of said packages when the carriers begin to separate from each other.

3. A refrigerating machine of the class described. comprising an i enclosing housing for maintaining a predetermined temperature range therein, a pair of superposed carriers operating in said housing of exible material having channel-like form with the outward iianges of one of said carriers facing and contacting the outward flanges of the other carrier during a predetermined portion of their travel in said housing to provide a box-like structure for the enclosing and carrying of packages to be refrigerated therein,

means for operating said carriers in belt-like manner about rotating members included therein, said carriers separating from each other as their respective portions travel around said members and endlessly continuing in another plane until they reach said predetermined portion of their travel to again contact each other in the box-like structure means as aforesaid, means for delivering said packages to the carriers as they 5 begin to form said structure and other means for arranging the removal of said packages when the carriers begin to separate from each other, and a coolant enclosing structure disposed in said housing about the carriers where the predetermined portion of the travel is arranged for refrigerating said packages while being carried in the box-like structure formed by said carriers.

ALBERT K. SCRIVEN.

REFERENCES CITED 5 The following references are of record in the le of this patent: K

UNITED STATES PATENT 

